Last week I wished for a few cold winter's nights so I could get back to finishing a couture project, and this week I got snowed in on Snowden. Night time temps have been single digits in Raleigh. Be careful what you wish for! 
Last night I worked on hemming my couture jacket. I couldn't find a good match in hem tape, but Joann's Fabrics had three colors of this lace. One was the perfect match. I used pins I purchased from Susan Khalje to hold the lace in place for hand stitching They are so sharp and have glass heads which can be ironed over and are great for delicate laces and fine fashion fabrics like the silk organza underlining. You can purchase the pins and the silk organza here: Susan Khalje Store 
Once the bottom of the lace was stitched to the folded up hem, I pressed the lace with just enough steam to shape it to the curve of the bottom edge of the jacket. Malleable materials that can be molded together feel like clay in a potter's hands to me. The fabric I chose for the jacket is 100% linen from Brazil, in color celestial, and reacts wonderfully to just a bit of steam. 
At the top of the lace I am using a catch stitch. Working from left to right, I first catch the lace and then catch the silk organza interlining. That way there are not any pick stitches showing on the outside of the garment. Well maybe a few misses. But only a few. 
Looks like celestial snowflakes to me. Melting on celestial linen. Too bad this is only the hem on the inside and will not show. But that is the beauty of couture inside and out. Rumors of more snow always welcome. I'm ready for another late night of fabric play. 
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So glad it's snowing tonight! Cold winter nights are super for late night sewing, and it's time to take my couture school project off the back burner. I finished the linen exterior in class, but I still need to insert the silk lining. And finish hand stitching beads on the lace. Oh and the buttons, alledged to be Chanel. Here are some scenes from the beginnings of making this jacket at Susan Khalje's Couture School back in October. Yes that was months ago. I know, it's time to finish.  Modern times' quest for a paperless world gives me a new appreciation for the printed page. The faster paperless approaches, the more tightly I clench my fist to hold on to printed artifacts that may soon be unavailable. I am sure my love of the art and design of the printed page was ignited at my Dad's office (he was a county extension agent). There in "the office" I would pick over the racks of pamphlets (the 70's version of pinterest) where one could learn how to do just about anything from canning tomatoes to decorating the home to keeping bees. Spending time with my Mom digging through the attic recently unearthed this treasure: "Easier Steps to Slip Covering". Published in August of 1958 by the North Carolina Agricultural Extension Service, it was written by Catherine C. KIng, Specialist in House Furnishings. Really not too much has changed and the first sentence sums it up: "Slip covers which are smartly tailored and properly styled give a fresh and new appearance to your room." Finders Keepers.  |
